Tegrin-LT Lice Spray News

THURSDAY, March 2, 2017 – Children exposed to a widely used group of insecticides may be at increased risk for behavioral problems, according to a new study. The insecticides are called pyrethroids. They're used on crops but can also be found in some mosquito repellents and in products used to treat head lice, scabies and fleas, the French research team explained. Like many types of insecticides, pyrethroids work by damaging nerves, and concerns have recently been raised about their possible effects on children who have been exposed. The study can't prove cause-and-effect. However, according to one child psychiatrist, it does raise troubling questions. "The pesticide class studied are considered 'safe' pesticides and this study is cause for concern as to how safe it really is," said Dr. Matthew Lorber, who reviewed the new findings. He directs child and adolescent psychiatry at Lenox ... Read more

-- Caring for pierced ears can help keep the piercings clean and prevent infection. Here is advice from the American Academy of Dermatologists: Never touch newly pierced ears without first washing your hands. Don't remove your first pair of earrings for at least six weeks. This helps the holes stay open. A few times each day, gently twist earrings around in your ears. At least once per day, wash ears carefully with water and soap. Clean piercings twice daily with rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab. Apply a bit of petroleum jelly afterward. See a dermatologist if your ears become swollen, red or puffy. Read more

FRIDAY, Sept. 9, 2016 – In the war against "superlice," parents appear to be up against a mighty foe – and it's one they'd certainly rather never see in the first place. A new report warns that over-the-counter products have lost much of their effectiveness against the so-called superlice. The good news is that prescription products can still get rid of those creepy critters. Parents should turn to physicians first instead of trying to treat their children themselves with over-the-counter products, said report lead author Dr. Ellen Koch. She's a dermatologist with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "The failure rate of these products has increased dramatically in many areas of the United States. This leads to increased cost, days missed from work and school, and frustration among our patients," she noted. Lice commonly infest the hair of kids. "In fact, if you look hard ... Read more

SATURDAY, April 30, 2016 – Children living in an area of New York state that uses aerial pesticides to control mosquitoes have a higher rate of autism than children in neighboring areas, a new study finds. Researchers found that children living in a swampy region in central New York were 25 percent more likely to have been diagnosed with autism or general developmental delay, compared to children in other parts of the state. However, the findings do not prove that aerial pesticides raise the risk of autism, stressed lead researcher Dr. Steven Hicks, a pediatrician at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, in Hershey, Pa. "This study really brings up more questions than answers," he said. "We need more research before taking any public action on pesticide use." One reason for restraint, Hicks noted, is that communities spray for mosquitoes to help prevent potentially severe ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, April 13, 2016 – Bedbugs may be developing thicker "skins" that help them resist common pesticides, a new study suggests. This might explain why bedbug populations are increasing worldwide, the researchers added. "If we understand the biological mechanisms bedbugs use to beat insecticides, we may be able to spot a chink in their armor that we can exploit with new strategies," study author David Lilly, from the University of Sydney in Australia, said in a university news release. Bedbugs are parasites that feed on the blood of people and animals as they sleep; the insects can produce painful bites in their victims. The new findings, published April 13 in the journal PLoS ONE, may lead to the development of more effective pesticides to fight bedbugs, the researchers said. "Bedbugs, like all insects, are covered by an exoskeleton called a cuticle. Using scanning electron ... Read more

MONDAY, March 7, 2016 – Most parents have at one time or another received the dreaded school notice: a case of head lice has been detected in your child's class. But, an expert says, there's no need to panic. Head lice don't carry diseases or indicate poor parenting or housekeeping, said Dr. Karen Sheehan, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Children should not be sent home from school early if they're found to have lice, Sheehan added. The insects move by crawling and cannot hop or fly. So, as long as teachers keep children's heads apart, there should be no further spread of lice, she explained. Would you recognize the signs of lice? Most are accurately diagnosed when a live louse is seen moving, Sheehan said in a hospital news release. Seeing nits, or lice eggs, within one-quarter-inch of the scalp suggests a person ... Read more

TUESDAY, Jan. 19, 2016 – Even if you think you live alone, you may not: A new study finds that the average American shares his or her home with over 100 different species of insects and other "arthropods." Arthropods are invertebrates with exoskeletons – segmented bodies and jointed limbs, and include insects, spiders, centipedes and mites. A team led by Matt Bertone, an entomologist at North Carolina State University, went room-to-room in 50 freestanding houses within 30 miles of Raleigh, N.C. The researchers found that, overall, nearly 600 different kinds of arthropods were found across the various homes. On average, any one home had about 100 different types of arthropods, the researchers said, and only five of the 554 rooms sampled contained no arthropods. "We think our homes are sterile environments, but they're not," Bertone said in a university news release. "We share our space ... Read more

MONDAY, Jan. 18, 2016 – Ticks that transmit Lyme disease are now found in nearly half of all counties in the United States, a much broader swath than was seen in the late 1990s, researchers report. The findings show "that the distribution of Lyme disease vectors has changed substantially over the last nearly two decades and highlights areas where risk for human exposure to ticks has changed during that time," said study author Dr. Rebecca Eisen, a research biologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lyme disease – transmitted by black-legged and western black-legged ticks often called deer ticks – can cause symptoms such as fever, headache and fatigue. It is often mistaken for the flu. Knowing where these ticks are found can help doctors make a correct diagnosis of Lyme disease, experts said. Researchers analyzed available data and found black-legged ticks ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 25, 2015 – The mosquito-borne virus chikungunya can cause severe and potentially fatal brain infection in some patients, particularly infants and people older than 65, according to a new report. A 2005-2006 chikungunya outbreak on Reunion Island, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, sickened more than 300,000 people. It also provided the first serious demonstration of the virus' ability to cause encephalitis, researchers report online Nov. 25 in the journal Neurology. Americans who contract chikungunya usually acquire the virus while traveling. The first locally transmitted case occurred in Florida in 2014, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate of chikungunya-associated encephalitis in the Reunion Island outbreak outpaced the rate reported in the United States for all encephalitis between 1998 and 2010, researchers found. Prior to ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 25, 2015 – Patients using prescription creams, gels, sprays and pills for skin conditions may shell out substantially more at the pharmacy than they did just six years ago, a new study suggests. Between 2009 and 2015, retail prices of brand-name dermatologic drugs rose 401 percent, on average, study authors reported Nov. 25 in JAMA Dermatology. Even generics have succumbed to price inflation, up 279 percent between 2011 and 2014, based on the drugs surveyed. Price increases for skin treatments far outpaced the general inflation rate of 11 percent during the six-year study period, the researchers said. "Cancer drugs were the worst in terms of the numbers" – up 1,240 percent or nearly $11,000 over the six-year study period – primarily because of two medicines, said Dr. Steven Rosenberg, voluntary professor of dermatology at the University of Miami Miller School of ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, June 3, 2015 – There's evidence – but not proof – of a link between a commonly used household pesticide and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and young teens, according to a new study. Specifically, researchers found an association between exposure to pyrethroid pesticides and ADHD, as well as ADHD symptoms such as hyperactivity and impulsivity. The link between the pesticides and ADHD was stronger in boys than in girls, according to the findings published online in the journal Environmental Health. However, researchers only found an association between pesticides and ADHD. The study did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship. Pyrethroid pesticides – considered safer than organophosphate pesticides – are the most widely used pesticides for home and public health pest control, and their use in agriculture is increasing, according to the ... Read more